In 2003 Nick was in Year 11, living in country Victoria, Bendigo. He was pretty switched on to the woes of the world: justice, war, environment etc but describes himself as being a bit of a drifter: “I was socially aware, but directionless”. OzGREEN ran a Youth LEAD in Bendigo that same year and Nick’s mum suggested he should go along.

The resulting journey has taken Nick from being a passionate drifter to an astute and determined leader. He believes that the skills he has learnt and the experiences he has had by being involved with OzGREEN have enabled him to act on one of his overriding concerns – a prevailing apathy in young people.

Mirabai went to her first Youth LEAD workshop in 2004. Normally Mirabai wouldn’t have done workshops or put herself in a situation where she had to talk in front of strangers; ever since she was little she had been gripped by shyness. However, life had recently changed in a major way for Mirabai. Just over three months before the workshop her young nephew Finn had died from a brain tumour, to add to this, she had recently had to quit her job, pulled out of her music course and gave up playing her beloved piano due to chronic tendonitis in her wrists. Mirabai was in a bit of a state.

Growing up in Coota, Alex felt that she and her friends were different to the majority of other kids, because they were interested in the environment. But it was this uniqueness that led Alex and her friends on a journey of amazing adventures from their quiet hometown to the hustle and bustle of India. They were regular high school students, who were inspired and in turn become inspiring change makers. They have taken on their local council, won the support of their local community and given back meaning to the name ‘Cootamundra’, all due to their core work of rehabilitating wetland ecosystems in their home town. Because of her experiences, Alex is now focused on study, a career and a way of life she is really passionate about